“The second this happened, it became too late.”

Did any of you catch the segment on NPR the other day, where Kelly McEvers talked with Parkland student and mass-shooting survivor Cameron Kasky? McEvers was gentle and respectful, letting Kasky tell his story at his own pace and in his own way, pretty much the kind of interview we’ve come to expect from NPR in situations like these. Near the end of the interview, this remarkable interchange took place:

MCEVERS: What do you say to people who say don’t politicize this; it’s too soon?

KASKY: It’s too late. It’s too late. It’s never too soon. The second this happened, it became too late. And to those who say we can’t politicize this, they don’t understand that if we don’t politicize it, no action is going to come from this. We need to start moving now. And as much as we love thoughts and prayers, we don’t need them from our lawmakers. We need action, and we demand it. And we’re going to get it.

Mr. Kasky and a number of his fellow students are in the process of doing just that. The March For Our Lives, which is set for March 24, is being organized and funded right now. While Rome Burns fully supports this effort, and we encourage you to do the same. Because, while we don’t claim to know the solution to gun violence in this country, we can unequivocally state that inaction, that “thoughts and prayers,” just aren’t working. That the constitutional rights provided all Americans become less than meaningless if our children don’t survive to enjoy them.